Improvement in seats and couches for railroad-cars



E. BURKE.

Car Seat and Couch.l

No.y 30,517rJ `Patented Oct. 23. 1860.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD BURKE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND A. LULYER, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEATS AND COUCHES FOR RAILROAD-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 30,5l7, dated October 23, 1860.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD BURKE,of the city of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Seats and Couches for Sleeping-Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists, first, iu a peculiar construction of seats for sleeping-cars, whereby they may be readily converted into couches without in any way detracting from their ntility and comfort as seats with reversible backs; secondly, in certain platforms arranged to slide on vertical rods connected permanently wto the side of the car, the said platforms being connected to each other and to the roof by jointed rods, and the whole being arranged in the manner described hereinafter, so that the platform may be readily elevated and lowered--elevated when required to be out of the way during the day, and lowered when they are required to form two couches for night use.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention,I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a Dart of this specification, Figure l represents a portion of the inside of a railway-car, showing my improved seats and couches as arranged for day use; Fig. 2, a perspective view, showing the arrangement ofthe seats and couches for night use; Fig. 3, an enlarged view of part of the car with the seats and couches arranged for night use; Fig. 4, a transverse vertical section of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, an end View of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6, a portion of Fig. 5, showing the upper couches elevated.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents a portion of the base, B part of the roof, and O part of the side, of the car, within which a series of seats are arranged in the saine manner as those of ordinary passenger-cars.

Each seat consists of a base, D, resting on two frames, E E, and having the upper frames, F F, to which is hin ged the usual reversible back, G. The whole of the seats are permanently secured to the base of the car, and afford, when arranged for day use, precisely the same conveniences as the ordinary car-seats with reversible backs. The base of each seat has two sliding boards, H and H', (see Figs.3 and 4,) each board being furnished with and supported at the outer ends by two legs, a a, and the boards being ot' such a length that when those of two adjacent seats are slid out they meet, 0r nearlyineet, each other. Above these boards H, and to the edge of the base of each seat, are hinged two leaves, I, of the sa me width as and coinciding with the board below. These leaves, when folded back onto the seat, form, with the strip b at the rear ot' the base, a level surface for receiving the cushion used during the day. When folded outward, however, as seen in Fig. 3, they form, with the npper surface ot' the base, a platform for receiving the night-cushions.

It will be observed that one ofthe boards, H, of one of the seats and the opposite board ot' the adjacent seat may be slided out and the leaves I above these boards folded down, thus forming one eouch,wl1ile the remaining boards, El', retain their position within the basis ofthe seats with their leaves I folded back, thus forming two ordinary seats for day use. It will be evident that this arrangement ali'ords great convenience to passengers traveling in company,some of whom may desire to assume a reclining and others a sitting position. The arrangement also affords accommodation for invalids without incommoding other passengers.

J and K are two sleeping-platforms, each eonsistingof a frame with sacking or other suitable material stretched across it for receiving a mattress. The lower platform, K, has two staples, d d, Fig. 4, arranged to slide on the vertical guide-rodsL L, (best observed on reference to Fig. 1,) each rod being permanently secured at the lower end to the side of the car and at the upper end to the roof. The higher platform, J, has also two staples, e e, arranged to slide on guiderods M M, secured to the car in the same manner as the rods L L. The opposite ends ofthe upper platform, J are connected to the roof by the jointed rods N N, and the opposite ends ot' the lower platform,

K, are connected to the upper platform by the jointed rod Pthe rods being in both instances so situated as to support the outer edge of the platforms when the latter are lowered for night use. 'Ihe inner edge of theupper platform is supported by its staple e resting on the b ent lower end of the guide-rod M, and the inner edge of the lower platform by its staples resting on the bent lower end of the guide-rods L L.

Q Q are straps buttoned to the front edge of both platforms and connected to the roof, so as to prevent the recumbent passengers from accidentally falling from the berths. When the platforms have to be elevated out of the way they are simply pushed upward trom underneath, when thejointed rods N and P will be bent inward, and the staples d and e ofthe respective platforms will be slided upward on their respective guide-rods until the platforms and jointed rods assume the position shown in Fig. 6, where they are held on the inside by a turn-buckle or other suitable device, f, and on the outside by a board, R, hinged to the roof of the car, and having a projection, It, which underlaps the outer edge of the lower plat-.

form. When the platforms are arranged for night use the board R is retained in the elevated position shown in Fig. et by the hook i or other suitable attachment.

Prior to raising the platforms, as above described, the head-boards 7c 7c, (one of which is hinged to each platform, and the upper ends of which rest against the jointed rods,) are folded down under the mattress, and the pillows of the four berths are strapped to the roof in the position shown at x, Fig. 4, so that when the platform is elevated the pillows are packed out of the way between the upper platform and the root'. The front edges ot' the platforms are concealed by the hinged board R, which 'may be suitably ornamented on the outside, and nothing appears to indicate the presence of the two platforms and their appliances buta boxformed projection at the corner of the roof. Af# ter simply moving the turn-bucklefand raising the hinged board R the platforms will at once fall and assume their proper position for night use, thus avoiding the delay experienced in adjusting the detachable platforms and complicated hinged boards which form the upper berths of other sleeping-cars.

To each end of the upper platform, J, is

hinged a hook, m, arranged tov catch onto a pin, i, one of which is secured to each end of the lower platform, K, thus maintaining the two platforms close together, so that the upper platform only maybe used as a sleepingcouch, the lower platform being elevated so high as to afford head-room for passengers occupyingseats below. Thisarrangementaffords ample convenience for a sleeping infant or reclining invalid without disturbing other passen gers who'assume a sitting position. A rod, S, situated near the roof of the car, passes along the opposite sides and front of the berths, and to this rod is hung a curtain, which may be made to inclose the whole ot' the berths, as shown in Fig. 2.

It will be seen without further description that by my improvement a space in length and breadth equal to that occupied by two ordinary car-seats and of the height of the car is rendered available for four convenient berths, and this without resorting-to seats with permanent unreversible backs, to permanent partitions or columns, and other inconvenient and unsightly projections and appliances which render sleeping-cars as hitherto constructed uncomfortable when arranged for day use.

I am aware that boards slidingout from hollow seats and suspended platforms have been heretofore used in connection with sleeping-v cars. I- therefore lay'no broad claim to such devices; butv I claim as my invention and desire to secure1 by Letters Patentf 1. Ihe within-described arrangement of the sliding boards H and H', with theirlegs a a, and the hinged leaves I, when the whole is combined with the base D of a car-seat having the usual reversible back, G, as herein set forth.

2. The platforms J and K, guided and retained in position by the permanent rods M and L, connected together by the jointed rods P, and to the roof by the jointed rods N, the whole being arranged and operating as and for the purpose specied.

In testimony wliereofIhave signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD BURKE.

Witnesses HENRY HowsoN, CHAs. E. FOSTER. 

